Singer and songwriter Duncan Sheik, who was Grammy nominated for his 1996 hit “Barely Breathing” and won two Tony Awards as the composer of “Spring Awakening,” died September 17, 2026, at a hospital in New York City of cardiac arrest at the age of 56.
Sheik’s career traced an unusual arc from pop radio to the theater world, and in doing so he helped redraw the boundary between the two. He proved that intimate, literary songwriting could carry a Broadway score just as it drove an alternative hit. This opened the door for a generation of singer-songwriters who followed him from the recording studio to the stage.
Born November 18, 1969, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Sheik attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He studied semiotics at Brown University, where his classmates included Lisa Loeb, known for her 1994 song “Stay (I Missed You).” The two were in the band Liz and Lisa together; Sheik played guitar. His early career also included a guest appearance with the Seattle alternative band His Boy Elroy.
On his own, Sheik signed with Atlantic Records and released his self-titled debut in 1996. Written largely by Sheik, it included “Barely Breathing,” which topped the Adult Alternative Airplay chart and spent more than a year on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 16. The song was ranked among VH1’s “100 Greatest Songs of the ’90s” and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
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